Rons Bantwal

Daijiworld Media Network - Mumbai

Mumbai, Sep 28: “With the arrival of Dasara, memories of childhood celebrations in Mangaluru come flooding back. The excitement of waiting for the different disguises and performances—milk disguise, bread disguise, paper disguise, thief disguise, Koraga disguise, Siddhi disguise, tiger dance, bear dance, Radha-Krishna disguise. I still remember rushing to see the tiger dance troupe as soon as the band played, only to fall and injure my thigh on a stone, leaving behind a scar,” reminisced senior writer Shyamala Madhav of Mumbai.

She recalled dressing up as a Koraga during her school’s Dasara celebrations, which even won her a prize. “My mother would mix soot with water and smear it all over my body. Mango leaves were tied around my waist, arms, legs, and neck. But now, the Koraga disguise has been banned as it is considered caste-based, just like the Siddhi disguise,” she said.

Speaking further, she described, “We would strap pillows to our backs and fronts, bump into each other, and sing, ‘Siddhi Havar Siddhi, Makka Madina, Bombay ko jana, coffee roti peena.’ People would drop a few coins into our hands with pride. The tiger dance was performed only in the houses of the wealthy, and we children would trail behind them just to get a glimpse.”

According to her, times have changed, and the social conditions that once necessitated such disguises have also disappeared. “Today, the grand celebrations of Kudroli and Venkataramana Sharadotsava feature hundreds of tiger dance troupes and colourful tableaux, with the magnificent darshan of goddess Sharada. Yet, the priceless charm of those childhood days is fading away,” Shyamala Madhav reflected.